A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 10
Sanyuan County is under the plateau.

Coming down from Bailuyuan, it is the old channel of Qingyu River going east along the edge of the plateau. After diverting the south of Qingyu River into the old Baiqu, the old river channel has also been converted into a branch channel for water diversion and irrigation, and continues eastward to join the Shichuan River. .

The south bank of the old river is Sanyuan County.

This is a very new county, so new that it has only been a county seat for a few years.

On the plateau plain, a small town of rammed earth stands there.

The earliest history of Sanyuan County should be traced back to the Sanyuan Guard Army in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Later, Sanyuan County was established and ruled in Xiaodou Village, Guxian, Chunhua, in the Qingyu River Valley, also known as Guigu.

"The county has moved around too frequently in these years." Zhao Shuli was dissatisfied with the new county. Sanyuan County was very large in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and even had a county in the Northern Zhou Dynasty.In the Sui Dynasty, the county government of Sanyuan was moved from Yong'an City in Chunhua to Yong'an Town (Fupingdan village and town) in Yizhou.

Yong'an Town is very close to Chang'ao in Huaiyu's new sub-district, both on Bailuyuan, which is only eight miles away. In fact, it is also very close to Rencheng, the current new county seat, only ten miles away.

"In the fourth year of Wude, the imperial court changed the name of Sanyuan to Chiyang, and then moved the county government from Yong'an Town to Rencheng, but in the sixth year of Wude, moved Chiyang back to Qingshui Valley Yong'an City and renamed it Huachi, and then divided the government. Sanyuan, Libei Quanzhou..."

From the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Sui and Tang Dynasties, the county government and county boundary of Sanyuan changed greatly. It was only nine years since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, and it was changed even more.

Sanyuan becomes Chiyang, Chiyang becomes Huachi, and Huachi divides into Sanyuan.

Sanyuan was originally an upper county in Gyeonggi, but now it has become a lower county.

Even subordinate officials like Zhao Shuli were affected.

Now both Sanyuan and Huachi counties belong to Beiquanzhou. This Beiquanzhou prefecture is located in Yong'an Town. Huachi moved back to Qingshui Valley Yong'an City, and Sanyuan Zhi is located in Rencheng. Yong'an City is located in Qingshui Valley. On the plateau, it is also guarding the main road leading to northern Shaanxi.

As for Rencheng, it was built on the lower plateau plain, so there was no danger to defend it. It might as well be Longqiaobao guarding the Qingyu River Valley, but the advantage here is also in the plains.

"I heard that the imperial court planned to merge Sanyuan and Huachi counties, and then the county will be abolished again!" Zhao Shuli complained. In Yong'an City, this undoubtedly had a great impact on subordinate officials like them.

Huaiyu didn't pay much attention to it.

In the afternoon, no one came in or out of the city gate. There was an old man and a young man guarding the gate. The old man was disabled with one arm, and the young man was about [-] or [-] years old. They hid in the shade of the city gate and dozed off.

"They are all people recruited by the county."

A disabled person, a middle-aged man who has not yet grown up, still has to serve as a national servant, but they are exempted from regular service, and they serve as men's slaves, a kind of full-time miscellaneous workers.

"Erlang, although you are still young, you are already a middle-aged man. You don't have to pay rent and tax for the time being, but you already need to undertake hard labor." Zhao Shuli made a suggestion to Huaiyu, and he will meet with the county magistrate Zhang later. At that time, please ask County Magistrate Zhang to help and arrange a prostitute.

"This labor is also divided into three classes. The first class is the small service, also known as the national official service. Generally, the imperial court enlists to undertake the work of repairing the city god, transporting grain, and repairing rivers. It often has to go outside the state or even to the border. It is not only hard, but also It may take a month or two to go back and forth on the road, and the 20 days of active duty, plus the time on the road, will take too much time and may even be dangerous. Most of them will have extended service, so avoid as much as you can!"

"Middle-aged men who are underage usually serve miscellaneous Yao. They are conscripted by the prefecture and county, and they only serve in the prefecture and county. They do some work such as delivering food, repairing cities, and building roads. You can only serve for one day, and for 20 days, Zayao will have to serve for forty days!"

"If there is a way, it will be sex slavery."

Sex slaves are a type of miscellaneous Yao, but compared to miscellaneous Yao who have no fixed tasks, sex slaves have fixed duties, such as bridge guards watching bridges, gatekeepers guarding gates, beacon sons in charge of horses, horsemen, and so on. There are Tun Ding in Tuntian, and Yi Ding in post stations delivering documents.

There are also those who specialize in serving as errands, such as servants, Baizhi, Shili, and Zhiyi.

"Sex service can also be divided into light and tiring, good and bad. Yiding, Fengzi, and Tunding are the hardest ones, and it is not easy to be a clothes-holding, white straight, and common servant for officials."

If you are the son of a high-ranking official or aristocrat, you can serve as the three guards, the prince's battalion, the steward, the marriage, and the account. The Ministry of Officials takes the exam, and those who pass can be awarded officials. This is actually a kind of welfare for the children of officials above the fifth rank.

Lao Wu only became a military officer from the seventh rank. Although there is a honor for the fifth rank, the honor officer is only a rank.

"The descendants of officials below the sixth rank and the sons of the honored officials below the third rank and above the fifth rank are called pinzi. They can serve as marriages and accounts for princes and officials above the third rank, and they can be on a regular basis. They can also be sent to manage the capital of the company. It can also be assigned to serve as local miscellaneous tasks, that is, county history, Qutou, Lizheng, etc..."

Zhao Shuli is very clear about the affairs in the yamen, and he carefully analyzed for Huaiyu how to serve as a prostitute to avoid miscellaneous officials, and how to choose good errands in the prostitution.

"It's actually not a good job to charge princes and officials of the third rank and above for marriage and account. To put it bluntly, it is to serve them as servants. They often have to pay for them themselves. Hard work is not worth it. I suggest that Erlang can find the county king. Find a money grab job."

"Catch money?"

"Zhouqian is also called Zhuqian Lingshi, and only the identity of the rank can be used. In fact, it is to use the capital of the yamen's office to lend and collect interest for the office expenses of the yamen and to subsidize the salaries of the officials of the yamen."

Datang is a dynasty that pays attention to status everywhere. Even if they serve in the military, they are distributed according to their status. The white-bodied officials of the class generally have to serve in full service, while the disabled and middle-aged men are responsible for local miscellaneous Yao or some special services. sex slavery.

However, some households of music craftsmen have to undertake special labor duties. For example, although craftsmen are good citizens, they are not allowed to enter the ordinary household registration, and they are not allowed to join the army or even change jobs. They have to undertake special labor duties.

And such as Lizheng, Fangzheng, Qutou, Cangdu, Yamen Lizuo, Shi, etc., are the grassroots officials in charge of affairs, and generally they must be the children of high-ranking officials, or those who have honored officials.

Baizhi, Zhiyi, Yiding, etc. are acted by ordinary Baiding.

The Tang Dynasty did not have any special grassroots civil servants. Most of them were recruited by the common people to undertake the duties. Even except for the Beijing officials, the local officials had no salary. Tian, ​​another sum of money was confiscated as the capital of the company, and used as local funds and officials' subsidies.

"How does Lingshi catch money?" Huaiyu didn't really want to be a servant to those high-ranking officials and princes.

"He takes [-] yuan in his hands, pays [-] yuan a month, and pays [-] yuan a year. It is used as public money and as the salary and miscellaneous items of the officials and subordinates of the yamen." Zhao Shuli told the truth.

"Such a high interest rate? Isn't it usury?" Huaiyu almost thought that he heard it wrong, the interest rate doubled in a year?
In future generations, the monthly interest rate is three cents, and the annual interest rate is 30.00% six, which are all red lines.

Is this still a good job?This is taking Pinzi as a sheep, right? Can you receive so much interest?Can't receive the supplement?

"In fact, the interest rate is not too high. You must know that in these years of turmoil, the interest rate of private loans is much higher than this. Even if the common people go to the temple to borrow food and pay it back in spring and autumn, half a stone of grain will be paid back. This is still a very small number of large temples. However, most monasteries and noble merchants borrowed grain, and they paid back double, borrowing one stone and paying two stones, which was only half a year.

If there is a famine year, the interest rate will be higher during the famine. It is very difficult to borrow one bucket in spring and pay back three buckets in autumn. "

"Ordinary private businessmen borrow one cent per month. If you borrow [-] a year, the interest will be [-]."

The 700 capital and [-] annual interest is not caused by local chaos, but by the yamen of the six departments in the three provinces of Chang'an, which also follow this set of standards. Each yamen in Chang'an has its own team to catch money , It is said that there are [-] people in the official history of arresting money orders.

These money-grabbing orders are all selected from the Beijing official ranks, and directly awarded the five ranks outside the country. If the money is caught well, as long as the interest is paid in time and in full in two or three years, you can participate in the selection of the Ministry of Officials, and you can be awarded if you pass. Sanguan, who have a formal background in Liunei, and then work as a job in the Ministry of Officials for a few years, Fanman can directly assign real positions in Liunei.

"The history of the money-grabbing orders in our county is not comparable to that of the various departments in the capital. We are not outsiders, and are miscellaneous tasks in the county election. But as long as the money is caught well and the three years are completed, we can also participate in the state election. If you pass it at that time, you will be able to obtain the official rank of exile. In most places, the Lingshi who is good at catching money will be transferred by various departments in the capital to catch money, and the future is bright."

Zhao Shuli is very envious. His official name is Shushou. He has no foreign products, and he is also a miscellaneous job. If you work in the yamen, as long as you handle important powers in your hands, you can still earn a lot of money.

It's just that he came from a low background and has no family background, so he can't get money if he wants to, let alone have a good future.

For a character like Wu Huaiyu, if you catch money, you can catch the opportunity to be selected by the official department, and as long as you have some ability, you can be awarded officials along the way.

This can be said to be a shortcut to the end of an official career, and it is more reliable than taking the imperial examination. After all, there are not many imperial examinations a year these days.

"Erlang, this job is pretty good." Zhao Shuli reminded Huaiyu.

Even if you can't get out the loan, at worst, you can make up for the [-] yuan in interest yourself, which is equivalent to paying for an official, although it is only a chance to be selected.

What's more, the family of a high-ranking official is afraid that they won't be able to make a loan of [-] yuan a year?This is the capital of the public house, and many cases of arresting money are made in the name of public money. In fact, a lot of private capital is added, in which they can make a lot of money and gain both fame and fortune.

What's more, the errand of catching money and Lingshi is quite special. He is a member of the yamen, but regardless of other cumbersome tasks, as long as he can pay interest on a monthly basis, there is no one to control him at all.

After hearing this, Huaiyu felt that this was really suitable for him. He didn't want to be a handyman for a high-ranking official, nor did he want to serve those labors.

"Thank you, Brother Zhao, for reminding me."

"You're welcome, just come to me if you need anything in the future."

With people in the system explaining, Huaiyu also realized that although the Wu family is also a family of officials, but the father and Huaiyi are officials below the third rank, so they can only exempt themselves, wives and concubines, trilogy, Hakka women, etc. Relatives are not exempt from the service of slaves.

Only those high-ranking officials and knighted nobles can exempt the relatives who live together in the same household with great merit, and the rest of the Dingzhong are also unavoidable.

Compared with the situation in the Ming Dynasty, where everyone was exempted from the exam, the whole family was exempted, which is indeed quite different.

The real benefit that Lao Wu can bring to Huaiyu is that he has the status of pinzi, and can choose easy sex jobs to avoid full-time jobs.

Huaiyi also felt that Huaiyu could consider the task of catching Qian Lingshi. Although there was a task of [-] pennies of interest a year, he felt that it should not be a big problem, after all, the private interest was not lower than this.

Well done, there is still a way out.

County government.

Brother Huaiyi paid a visit to County Magistrate Zhang.

County magistrate Zhang is not the civil servant in Huaiyu's impression, but a military general who came from the army. He has a thick back and a loud voice. As soon as the two brothers entered the door, he fixed his eyes on the golden knife on the waist of the two brothers.

"This golden knife was given by King Qin, I have one too." The county magistrate said with a smile, "I was born in the Three Guards Army of King Qin."

In a word, the relationship between several people was brought closer.

County Magistrate Zhang's hometown is still in Hedong, and he is from the same village, so everyone is very kind.

After some chatter, Huaiyu also took advantage of the opportunity and asked the county magistrate to help arrange an errand for catching Qian Lingshi.

Magistrate Zhang laughed, "Well, this job is not bad, but although we are from the same town, the nine officials in this county are in charge of the capital of the yamen, office expenses, materials for the canteen, and officials. For miscellaneous salaries, you can rely on this capital to earn interest, and if you can’t handle the errands, you can get subsidies yourself.”

"Master Mingfu, please rest assured."

"Young people are happy and motivated. This county will ask someone to go through the formalities for you now. You are now the history of the county's money-catching order. You can go directly to the library to collect the fifty pennies." Zhang County magistrate special affairs , very happy.

"Xie Ming Mansion."

County magistrate Zhang waved his big hand, "See you later, Uncle Ying Guogong, send my regards."

Zhao Shuli took Brother Huaiyu to the warehouse to collect the money, "Erlang, don't worry, the capital of fifty guan is guaranteed to be the newly minted Kaiyuan Tongbao money of this dynasty, and there will never be any old Sui five baht money or even fake money." Zhao The clerk was very enthusiastic, because he was embracing the relationship with the Wu family and refused to let go.

Huaiyu nodded his thanks, and on the way he asked Huaiyi, "What happened to Ying Guogong that County Magistrate Zhang said just now?"

"Mr. Ying's surname is Wu Yushi, he is our clan's uncle. He and our Aye are the same great-grandfather, and their grandfathers are brothers."

Samurai Xun, isn't that Wu Zetian's father?Is he and I still relatives of the same clan? His father and him are brothers of the same great-grandfather clan. Counting it, in his generation, he happens to be a five-fu relative, and the next generation will be a five-fu relative.

"What is our relationship with Duke Ying's mansion?" Huaiyu had never heard Father Wu and the others mention this relative before.

"Our family used to live in Wenshui County, Bingzhou, and Mr. Ying lived in Shouyang County, Bingzhou. Our grandfather and Mr. Ying's great-grandfather were once granted the title of Duke of Shouyang County, but this branch of our family is a side branch. They are the direct descendants of the great clan. .During the great cause of the previous dynasty, we, Aye, also sold timber with brothers Ying Guogong, Xuancheng County Gong, and Anlu County Gong to do business. Later, through the relationship of Ying Guogong, we did business in Yingyang Mansion, Mayi. Buddy..."

He was one of the 17 heroes of Li Yuan’s Taiyuan Yuanmou. He was an absolute confidant. In Wu Dechao, he served as the doctor of the Treasury Department, the general of Jingcheng, the guard of the right side of the school, and the minister of the Ministry of Industry. The founding Duke of Yiyuan County was promoted to Ying Guogong.

Last year, someone reported that Li Xiaogong, the King of Zhao Jun who was guarding Yangzhou, had conspired against him. Li Yuan ordered his warriors to go to Yangzhou to examine the history of the governor of Yangzhou.

The samurai Xun has four brothers, and he also has two elder brothers who are named county princes, and Wu Dechao has one family and three princes.

No wonder Magistrate Zhang is so polite!

(End of this chapter)